Shadowed Past
by Fang5
Summary: Tsuzaki starts off in a gloomy fortress where he has no memory of the past. He wanders off, meets some decent friends and sets off on a perilous, action+humor-packed adventure involving giant robots, swords and demons. He discovers his past along the way.
1. S1 CH1: A New Life

DISCLAIMER: Uh... (eeek... I ain't good at this ^.^;;;) All characters are created and owned by me. I hafta admit, I did get some ideas in this story from some anime. To not get in trouble for the similar ideas, I'll give em credit. Organoid-like creatures - Zoids Chaotic Century. Mechs - uh... MechWarrior? Zoids? Gundam? Any show with cool, giant destructive robots with immense firepower. ^_^;;;;  
  
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#1: A New Life  
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The room was dimly lit. Up above, some moonlight had managed to fight its way through the tiny crack in the damp, stone wall. Tsuzaki watched the large wooden door creak open. He steadied his katana and was ready to spring into action. It had always been like this for many years. A stray wanderer had walked in to seek food and shelter. Quick as lightning, Tsuzaki drew his blade. It was all going to be over in a matter of seconds. Cold metal neatly sliced through the intruder's neck. A warm, red liquid trickled down Tsuzaki's hand; this, of course, was not his own blood... it was the blood of the person's life he had taken. By now, slaying everything in sight seemed quite normal for Tsuzaki. He did not care, for he was brought up this way.  
"Hah, pathetic human. It serves them right... the weak perish, and the strong prevail."  
[Right you are, my faithful servant. You have learned quite well.]  
"You, the voice in my head, master, why won't you show yourself?"  
[We've been through this already. It is my business, please butt out of it. Now why don't you take a break from your duty? You have been guarding this area well and deserve one.]  
"As you wish, master." Tsuzaki returned his sword to its case, laid down on the floor and tried to get some sleep. Sometimes, this was quite difficult; the floor neither provided comfort, nor warmth, something Tsuzaki had never felt before. While trying to get some sleep, he watched the dying embers of the fireplace. There was one last flicker, then it went out leaving him alone and cold. Was he going to live the rest of his life like the flame? Serving his purpose and being discarded when he was useless?  
  
Dawn broke out over the horizon, spilling many bright, beautiful colors into the sky. It looked as if someone had accidently spilled some watercolor paints on a wet slab of paper. Colors raced through the sky rapidly.  
  
"Now you... dump those cookies over here. NO, NO!! NOT ON MY HEAD!! ARRRGGHH!!!" A mysterious shadow chuckled with amusement as it watched Tsuzaki sleeptalk.  
[Wake up, you're sleep talking again.]  
"Huh?" Tsuzaki turned a bright shade of red in embarrassment.  
"Sorry, I was just dreaming again... I'll be off now..." He sprinted outside, and down the road. With an axe and sword, each in his hand, Tsuzaki continued down the path to the forest where he was going to spend the morning chopping firewood, and the rest of the day off doing whatever he pleased. A young squirrel nearby chittered happily, not taking notice of him. Suddenly, the squirrel darted up a tree in pure terror, as if Tsuzaki was a monster.  
  
[Why is everyone so scared of me?] Tsuzaki thought to himself. Why did he feel so lonely when he didn't seem to care? [Why do I long for company? I MUST be going insane... yes, that was it, having a friend is a weakness. Only by betraying and sacrificing someone's life for your own is the way to survive. How could those pathetic beings risk their own lives for someone else's?]  
  
The pavement on the road began to disappear as it started to blend in with some gravel, and then the soggy brown earth. More and more lush green trees and vegetation appeared. A large oak caught Tsuzaki's eye. The dry bark was rough and scarred, a proof of the tree's ancient past. It was perfect. With several swift swings of his axe, the tree was quickly downed and tied up with rope to be hauled back later.  
  
The work was done and now was a good time to go relax. A few hundred yards from the tree was a river. Today, the river seemed unusually calm and quiet. Usually, the river would be roaring and thrashing like a bear having a tantrum, but today it was like a helpless little lamb. Tsuzaki decided to take the risk and plunged into the ice-cold water to cool off. He dove down near the bottom and swam. It was bursting with life! Small schools of fish, eels, and other animals swam by him. Plants waved their leaves gently but soon, they waved so violently that it seemed like the water was going to tear them off of their roots. Plunging into the icy depths was a mistake... probably the first, biggest, and last mistake Tsuzaki will ever make. Air bubbles escaped his lungs. He had to swim to the surface for oxygen. The coldness was making his body numb and his muscles ache badly, his lungs seemed like they were going to burst like an oversized balloon. Each time Tsuzaki attempted to swim upward, a strong current would just push him back down.   
  
[No, this can't be the end of me. I can't die... I WON'T!!] He was going to scream. Try as he might, the waves were too strong. He finally gave in and gasped for breath. Water filled his lungs; white-hot pain seared through his chest. It felt as if thousands of burning knives were impaling him. As fast as the pain had come, it had gone, leaving Tsuzaki in a state of drowsiness. His vision clouded, until he could no longer see. Everything was darkening. He was losing consciousness from the lack of oxygen. Tsuzaki, the boy who wanted to be a legendary swordsman, no scratch that, a legendary manslayer, was going to die...  
  
"Wake up!! You can't die, whoever you are."  
"Huh?" Tsuzaki groggily woke up from his 'slumber'. He was in a tent of some sort. Things were slowly coming back to focus.  
"Am I dead?" He questioned the shadowy lump in front of him, which was soon becoming a person... a girl.  
"Of course not! I found you on the bank of the river and... KAWAIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!! The girl squealed with delight and tackled Tsuzaki to the ground, hugging him madly. Tsuzaki was not pleased at this and almost freaked out because he wasn't used to people hugging him... or even people at all. He pried himself from her grip and gasped for breath. [Oh great, just what I needed now... a psychopathic girl...]  
  
"Er, hi, I'm Tsuzaki. Not to be rude or anything but I HATE BEING TOUCHED!!! And who the he|| are you? Where is my katana?"  
"I'm sorry for not introducing myself, I was so worried that you were dead and... er, anyways, my name is Sakura." she paused for a moment to sniff the air as if something suspicious was lurking around. "Something smells bad... and... Ugh, Tsuzaki, when was the last time you took a bath?"  
"Bath? What's that? Is it when someone binds you in rope and tosses you in a tank full of pirahnas? My old sensei used to do that all the time. He said 'we're gonna give you a little bath' and just tossed me in. It was basically to train me to..."  
"EW!! No wonder why you smell like fish... THAT'S SUICIDE, NOT A BATH, YOU IDIOT!!"  
"Uh... how should I know what it is?"  
"Uh..." She fell on her head upon hearing his statement. "Oh well, I might as well give you one... " She dragged the protesting boy outside and tossed him into a hot spring. "Now take off your clothes."  
"WHAT?! I ain't taking off my clothes... especially in front of a girl!!"  
"But you need to wash off that horrible stench!!"  
"But I still ain't gonna... GYAAAAH!!" Sakura had jumped into the spring and tackled Tsuzaki. Seconds later, she was on his back, trying to yank off his shirt.  
  
"LEMME GO, LEMME GO, LEMME GO!!!"  
"Not till you get cleaned up!!"  
"Hah, you two look like you're in l-" before the stranger had time to finish his sentence, Sakura was already over there, malleting him on the head. Hey wait... how did she pull a mallet out of thin air?   
  
@.@;;;   
  
It took the stranger an hour before he could recover from the hit.  
"Sakura, why do you do that? Do you not like me?" Tsuzaki sweatdropped as he watched Sakura materializing her mallet again.  
"Hey kid, ya might wanna watch it... she's gonna do her mallet trick on you again."  
"My name isn't 'hey kid,' and I AIN'T A FRIGGIN KID!!!"   
"Uh... yeah... Shinnoto, this is Tsuzaki. Tsuzaki, this is Shinnoto, although I like to call him the baka yaro..."  
"Tsuzaki isn't it? Now I wouldn't mind being friends with you just as long as you keep away from my g-" Shinnoto was promptly met to the face with a mallet.  
"Sheesh, Shinnoto. I said it was ok if we were FRIENDS, not anything more than that. SO QUIT FOLLOWING ME YOU BAKA!!!" Tsuzaki smiled weakly as he watched Sakura 'abusing' Shinnoto.  
[This is going to be a loooooong day] he thought.  
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© Copyright 2003 Fang (L.C.M.) yes, those are my initials, the rest is censored; ya gotta problem, tell it to mah face or else tell it to mah fist!!!! 


	2. S1 CH2: A New Life: Part 2

DISCLAIMER: Uh... (eeek... I ain't good at this ^.^;;;) All characters are created and owned by me. I hafta admit, I did get some ideas in this story from some anime. To not get in trouble for the similar ideas, I'll give em credit. Organoid-like creatures - Zoids Chaotic Century. Mechs - uh... MechWarrior? Zoids? Gundam? Any show with cool, giant destructive robots with immense firepower. ^_^;;;;  
  
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#2: A New Life: Part 2  
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"OW, OW, OW!!! Sakura, can't you be any gentler with that mallet of yours?" Shinnoto was dodging here, and there for his life. In hot pursuit was an enraged Sakura, who was bringing down her heavy mallet everywhere as she tried to hit Shinnoto. Bits of wood, plastic, and even metal went flying. They had been at it for hours; they even skipped lunch! Tsuzaki just sat there, slumped on the ground leaning against a sturdy tree trunk. He was shoving popcorn down his mouth, watching Sakura and Shinnoto with amusement. Eventually, he got bored of this 'whack the Shinnoto game,' and had wandered off to catch some fish... with his bare hands. After an hour, Tsuzaki had returned, carrying a fish that would even have dwarfed an elephant. Instead of stopping to marvel the fish (or rather faint from its hefty size,) Sakura was still at Shinnoto's throat and Shinnoto was, well, still running for his life.  
  
Tsuzaki scatched his head, "Uh... dinner, anyone?"  
"Dinner? YAY!!" the 'predator and prey' said in unison. They both glared at each other for saying the same thing at the same time, and then proceeded to trample Tsuzaki in their haste to reach the fish, which was now roasting on the camp fire.  
"Oooh, that fish looks sooo delicious!" said Sakura, noting the size and muscular structure of the beast. Shinnoto didn't say anything because he was too busy drooling and imagining what it would taste like. [Aw man, I just gotta get a bite of that thing. Just look at its crisp, golden-brown skin. The sweet and sour juices dripping from it. The tantializing way it screams out, "EAT ME!"]  
  
He lunged at the fish with a fork and knife. Sakura, seeing this, had somehow snatched up the fish, leaving Shinnoto to fall into the flickering flames.  
  
"MY A$$ IS ON FIRE!" He ran around in flames while Sakura was rolling on the floor, laughing hysterically. Tsuzaki took no notice in this, partly because he was still knocked out from being trampled. Finally, the slightly charred Shinnoto had gathered up enough common sense to jump into the nearest body of water. He came out, but when he did, it wasn't exactly a pretty sight. The fire had burned away most of his clothes and you should pretty much figure out the rest...  
  
"Ugh, Shinnoto, put some clothes on!" Sakura said, while blushing furiously and covering her eyes. She turned around so that her back was facing Shinnoto, and handed him a clean pair of t-shirt and shorts which he snatched and quickly shoved on. The two of them certainly didn't forget about their dinner and went back to stuffing their faces. By the time Tsuzaki had awakened, the only remains of the fish were its bones.  
  
"Hey, where did the fish go? Wait a second... did you two eat ALL of it?" Tsuzaki frantically searched through the rib bones of the fish in hope of finding at least a tiny scrap.  
"Uh, we didn't do anything..." Shinnoto let out a loud burp which cleared up Tsuzaki's questions.  
"Oh dammit."  
"Aw, poor Tsuzaki..." He backed away slowly, in fear of being glomped again. Sakura noticed this so she backed down a little. "Hey, I know something that would cheer you up. Follow me!" Instead of following Sakura, Tsuzaki and Shinnoto were both being dragged along the ground.  
  
"OOO, EEE, AAAAHH!!!" The two boys complained and whined from getting hit by the bumpy rocks along the way. The ride was over when Sakura let go of her grip. Something soft and pink drifted down onto Tsuzaki's face. It was a cherry blossom's petal. He took a deep breath and sighed. The sweet fragance and soft feather-like grass was too good to be true. Up above was the full moon, and the glittering stars, all spread out in the dark, mysterious universe. Tsuzaki stood up and checked out his surroundings. There was a lake with clear crystal blue water. Around it were some cherry blossoms. They were everywhere!! A gentle breeze blew across his face. Behind him, Sakura was watching... mesmerized. His normal black and blue (no, it ain't from bruises) hair was silvery in the moonlight. For some reason, his sapphire eyes seemed like they were glowing. She couldn't take this any longer and looked away, blushing. Shinnoto walked up to Tsuzaki.  
  
"Hey, what's up?"  
"I dunno... don't you think the sakura by the lake looks beautiful?"  
"..."  
"Uh, Shinnoto?"  
"Uh huh..." Tsuzaki looked to his left and saw Shinnoto staring in the opposite direction, at Sakura.  
"Um, I wasn't talking about THAT Sakura." No sooner had he said it, Sakura was already over, smashing her mallet square in Shinnoto's face.  
  
@.@;  
  
[Oh well, I'd best leave them alone. It ain't fun getting stuck in the middle of a fight.] Tsuzaki walked away from them and leaped up onto a tree branch. If he had worn a robe and some sandals, he would have fulfilled the samurai look. He just leaned against the tree and stared up into the sky, thinking. [I could always abandon my friends and search for my 'home.' But what if I couldn't find it? Where would I go?] It had never occurred to him until now, that Sakura and Shinnoto were his friends. They accepted him willingly. It was as if Tsuzaki was reborn again. He drifted off into the night, deep in many thoughts...  
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© Copyright 2003 Fang (L.C.M.) yes, those are my initials, the rest is censored; ya gotta problem, tell it to mah face or else tell it to mah fist!!!! 


	3. S1 CH3: Reflections, Blueprints, and a S...

DISCLAIMER: Uh... (eeek... I ain't good at this ^.^;;;) All characters are created and owned by me. I hafta admit, I did get some ideas in this story from some anime. To not get in trouble for the similar ideas, I'll give em credit. Organoid-like creatures - Zoids Chaotic Century. Mechs - uh... MechWarrior? Zoids? Gundam? Any show with cool, giant destructive robots with immense firepower. ^_^;;;;  
  
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#3: Reflections, Blueprints, and a Strange New Adventure  
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There was a mass of swirling colors. Tsuzaki pummeled to the ground like a speeding bullet. When he crashed, he left no mark on the ground. Funny, there should at least be a small mark, some blood and pain, maybe even some broken bones. He got up anyways; the surrounding and props were blurry as if it was a dream-like state. Almost everything in sight was either metal or stone. It was a dungeon... or perhaps a fortress.  
  
[Funny, this place seems so familiar.] Tsuzaki wandered off into a maze-like series of paths and chambers. He didn't plan out which path to take, somehow, he automatically knew. At last, the journey had ended. He opened the door, but didn't intentionally do it. Someone... or something was controlling his body. The door swung open and squeaked loudly. It needed some oil. Up above, blue flames flickered on the torches, giving off a ghostly blue light. Tsuzaki's legs carried him over to the far end of the chamber where a large, old, dusty mirror stood. He tried to shut his eyes as they glanced over the mirror but they were frozen stiff. A wave of terror swept over him as he peered into the mirror. Where the reflection would normally turn out to be human, it was not. The image was a seemingly human-like creature. It had velvety dog-ears covered in silky, white fur. The creature also had long, white and silvery hair and a deep scar across his left cheek, but more noticeable were they eyes. In the center of those fierce, yellow orbs were slitted pupils, like those of a tiger. Deep in those eyes were flames… flames that could never be put out. He had a spirit that could never be tamed, but of course, in those flames was a deep hatred for something. Just with one glance, a person could easily tell that this demon was strong-willed and very proud, sometimes even mischievous or cruel.  
  
Some strange, puke green, many eyed creatures marched into the room. The leader pointed one of its many tentacles at Tsuzaki who froze in fear.  
"You must leave here or die, demon!"  
"NEVER!" he shouted with a voice that wasn't quite his.  
A strange white glow engulfed Tsuzaki. The sky suddenly grew dark as lightning flashed above. Electricity sparked around Tsuzaki, as he grew larger, slowly dropping on all fours. His clothes tore apart and fell to the ground, as his large, muscular, yet slender body grew way too large for them. Long, soft, silky, white fur sprouted out of his body. His snout slowly lengthened as sharp fangs formed where his former teeth were. Large claws sprang out from his paw. The light died down, showing "Tsuzaki's" true form... a fully-fledged fox demon. Electricity crackled around him. His muscles moved with great power as he bounded towards the intruders and slashed at them. Blood splattered everywhere as steel claws ripped the monsters apart from limb to limb. SLASH! The last creature fell in half, spilling blood onto the floor. Its organs fell out with a squish as strange liquid seeped through the openings. The demon, Tsuzaki, trampled over the dead bodies making a wet squishy sound with each step. He ran towards the horizon, disappearing into the sunset.  
  
[Funny, that mirror image seemed strangely familiar... as if he was from the past, but it couldn't be... And that fox demon…] Tsuzaki layed there, on a long smooth tree branch thinking about his dream. [That was so weird. I looked in the mirror but the reflection didn't look like me at all. What does it mean? But... but... it was only a dream. Dreams are always weird... they play tricks on you... I think...] He started drifting off again, deep in thoughts until an excited voice called out, breaking him free from the spell.  
  
"Tsuzaki, look what I found!" Shinnoto came running to him, waving around a dusty looking paper excitedly.  
"What do you mean 'look what I found?' I saw it first!!"  
"Well, I was the one who dug it up."  
"But you wouldn't have if I didn't point it out..."  
"Then why didn't YOU dig it up?"  
"Because I didn't want to get all dirty again..."  
"What? Scared of a little dirt?"  
"WHY YOU LITTLE..."  
"Uh, could you two get on with it?"  
"Oh yeah... It's a drawing of a weird robot. I found it under a rock with strange markings carved into it."  
"Ahem, WE found it."  
"Anyways, WE found it under a rock with strange markings carved into it, maybe it's a tablet. So Tsuzaki, what do you think it is?" He took the drawing and examined it carefully, then went over to the rock, observing every inch of it. Suddenly, everything had gone black except Tsuzaki and the rock. The ancient words on the rock lit up with bright light. For a moment, Tsuzaki could have sworn that he could read the language. He managed to get a glimpse of a few words before the light died down and everything returned to normal.  
  
"Um, guys, I think this is some sorta blueprint thingy for a mech. The tablet said something about the mech having a curse and the mech being hidden in an underground cave somewhere in the middle of an ocean. By the looks of this map on the back, I'd say the only way to get to it is going through a passageway hidden in a tomb in the middle of a nearby desert. I can't remember what the rest of the writing said..."  
"You can read the writing?" Sakura jumped back in shock.  
"Uh, for a second there... The rock and I were suspended in mid-air and it glowed, then-"  
"Who cares what happened? Let's go find it!!"  
"Shinnoto, don't you think we should get some provisions first and-"  
"Aw, c'mon, this is a mech we're talkin about!!! Let's go already!!" He ran down the road at top speed. It took a few seconds before he realized that he didn't know where the desert was so he turned back. "Uh, Tsuzaki, can I see the map for a second?" Before Tsuzaki could reply, Shinnoto grabbed the blueprint/map and ran down the road.  
"I guess we might as well follow him, he gets into a lot of trouble when noone's watching him," said Sakura sighing.  
  
© Copyright 2003 Fang (L.C.M.) yes, those are my initials, the rest is censored; ya gotta problem, tell it to mah face or else tell it to mah fist!!!! 


End file.
